A Debt Repaid
by Aesop
Summary: A young girl with a troubled conscience calls in a debt from a man who has none.  Warning.  Very dark.


**A DEBT REPAID**

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Elfen Lied, and I do not profit from this.

Author notes: I recently watched the complete Elfen Lied anime series. It's darker than I normally like, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless. The fic below is consequently much darker than I usually write, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone until it was written out. Hope you enjoy. Comments and questions are welcome; please read and review.

OOOOOOOOOO

Mayu was crying inconsolably, and she wouldn't tell them why. Kouta tried to speak to her, but the girl just shook her head and said she needed to take a walk. It wasn't easy watching, but Kouta had promised Mayu when she moved in that he would not pry. He let her go, hoping she would accept his offer to listen when she returned.

Wanta tried to follow, but for once, Mayu didn't want the little dog with her, as much a comfort as he usually was. Mayu didn't want comforting. She wanted to wallow in her misery for a time before trying to figure out how to fix the trouble she'd made.

All the 14-year-old girl took with her was the previous day's paper. Kouta and Yuka suspected that it was something in there that upset her, but they couldn't guess what. Neither had had the time to do more than glance at the headlines the day before.

"We agreed not to press," Yuka reminded him, echoing his own thoughts.

"I know, but I don't like seeing her so upset." He sighed and hoped she'd talk to them later.

OOOOOOOOOO

Mayu wandered aimlessly for a time, thinking about what she'd seen in the paper. She might not even have known had the story not been mentioned on the radio that morning. When the news segment had ended, Mayu went looking for the article, hoping that she had misunderstood, that it wasn't related to her or wasn't that bad. If anything, it had been worse.

The overcast sky perfectly matched her mood, and the wind seemed to cut straight through her. The weather suited her, she decided. What right did she have to be comfortable or happy after what she'd done? The guilt and the helplessness tore at her, forcing more tears from the girl who already felt wrung out.

It was her fault. Mayu had left because she knew that she couldn't stand to have Kouta and Yuka trying to convince her otherwise. She'd never even told them why she ran away from home and had no intention of doing so, fearing the looks they would give her and what they would think of her. If she couldn't tell them that much, there was no way she could tell them that someone was dead because of her.

Sighing in frustration, despairing of ever finding a way to make it right, she thrust her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she walked toward the beach. Perhaps watching the ocean would calm her. The feel of paper under her fingers caught her attention, and she fished out a folded page from a small notebook. It took her a moment to remember where she had gotten it, but when she did, she stopped in her tracks.

For a long time, she just stared at the paper, not thinking. When she started moving again, there was purpose in her steps. This wouldn't fix her mistake, but it would keep it from getting worse. At the back of her mind, a small voice railed against the decision, but it fell silent when she considered her other options. As she saw it, there weren't any. Not given what the man on the radio had said that morning.

The only question on her mind was whether or not the debt still existed. She found a payphone on the beach and, after only a brief struggle with her conscience, called the number.

OOOOOOOOOO

He didn't recognize the number on the caller-ID. Only a few people had his private cell number, and he didn't really want to talk to any of them. _Might mean work_, he reasoned, repressing a sigh of irritation. He flipped open the phone. "Yeah?"

"H-hello," a quavering voice answered. He didn't recognize it and was about to dismiss it as a wrong number when the young girl on the other end rushed forward. "We met on the beach about a month ago. I-I found you hurt." His teeth clenched at the memory and the realization of who was calling.

"I remember," he spat out. He also remembered telling her that she'd better hope he never laid eyes on her again.

"Does the debt still exist?" The girl cut him off, surprising him. When Bando had given her his number and offer, he had honestly never expected her to call it in. What happened immediately after that had made him all but dismiss the possibility. Suddenly, he had to seriously consider the question. Did just sparing the girl's life when she refused to answer his questions about the horned bitch qualify as repayment? After a moment's consideration, he almost growled in frustration when he concluded that it did not.

"Yeah. It does. Don't talk about it over the phone, though. Come to the beach where we last met in an hour." He hung up, not wanting to listen to the simpering little voice any more than he had to.

He gathered up his gear and left the small room he was renting. He could afford better, but it kept him inconspicuous. Bando had never been one for luxuries anyway. He hated pretense and the stupid way most people clung to their creature comforts. The fact was, Bando hated people in general. If they weren't simpering sheep practically asking for the abuse others heaped on them, they were greedy, manipulative jerks, like his former bosses. The only thing that really mattered was the challenge. It was unlikely the little mouse on the phone would present him with one, but whatever she wanted him to do would clear the debt, and that was worthwhile.

OOOOOOOOOO

The little mouse was waiting for him. He half expected her to run at the sight of him after the last time, but she surprised him by standing her ground and meeting his gaze. "What's the job, kid?" he said, before she could speak, wanting to keep it short and simple. No telling what tangents the nervous little thing would go off on if he let her guide the conversation.

"This article," she handed him a copy of the paper from the day before, "is about my step-father and mother." She looked particularly miserable and Bando hoped she wasn't going to start bawling. "It's all my fault this happened. I ran away from home because of him, but I see now that I should have tried harder with mom, or…or called the police or something." She took a deep steadying breath and Bando glanced at the article, looking for a clue as to what she was talking about. "I want you to make sure he can't hurt anyone else."

"He was arrested?" Bando asked, glancing at her after getting to that point in the article.

"I heard on the radio this morning that he's already out on bail." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Mom came home early one day and caught him in bed with someone else. The paper says mom had a-a fit of jealous rage and killed her."

"So you want the guy dead 'cause he was cheating on your mom, screwin' some other woman?"

She shook her head violently. "You don't understand. I thought it was over when I ran off. Mom would get the attention she wanted from him. I-I didn't think…" She took another steadying breath, on the verge of tears. Bando waited impatiently, resisting the urge to slap the brat around to get her to spit it out.

"The 'other woman' mom was so jealous of, the one she killed, was 11 years old."

Bando was silent for a moment as the pieces of the picture clicked into place for him, but he let none of whatever he might have felt or thought show on his face. "Consider it done, kid. All debts paid." Without another word, he turned and walked away up the beach, not even giving a parting glance to the girl who could no longer hold back her tears.

THE END


End file.
